The preparation of this report was supported in part by funding from the National Institute On Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (Grant # P20M.D.002329) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Cooperative Agreement # U48DP001943). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report was developed as a quick information source on selected health risk factors and outcomes of Arkansans for the Senate and House Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committees. The Report can be found here – PDF (1.86 MB). The analyses and report were prepared by Martha M. Phillips, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, Melanie Goodell, MPH with input from other faculty and staff of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. Additional supplemental materials were provided by the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.

Jim Raczynski, Ph.D., Professor and Founding Dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, Paul Halverson, DrPH, State Health Officer and Director of the Arkansas Department of Health, and Joe Thompson, M.D., MPH, Arkansas Surgeon General and Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement briefed both the Senate and House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee’s on Public Health issues in Arkansas in the beginning weeks of the regular legislative session of the 87th General Assembly of the State of Arkansas. The Chairs of the Committee’s, Senator Percy Malone and Representative Greg Reep had copies of the briefing book transmitted to all members of their perspective bodies for their use. The table of contents begins on page 3 of the Report.